Junoon's Dubai outpost seeks Indian chefs

Restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj will travel to India to select chefs for the Dubai outpost of his restaurant, Junoon.

Restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj will travel to India this week to select chefs for the Dubai outpost of his acclaimed restaurant, Junoon, which opens in October in the Shangri-La Hotel.

Finding experienced cooks in the city who hail from India has long been a challenge for Mr. Bhardwaj, who co-founded Café Spice in 1997 (he is no longer involved in that business) and opened Junoon in the Flatiron district three years ago.

"Because of visa restrictions, it's very hard for me to bring skilled Indian chefs to New York," Mr. Bhardwaj said. Not so in Dubai, where visa regulations are more favorable. He expects five of his 14 new chefs to come from his homeland.

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Rather than inking a licensing deal and outsourcing operations to a partner, as do many New York restaurateurs who open in Dubai, Mr. Bhardwaj's deal calls for him to operate Junoon with his hand-picked employees. It will be the second Junoon, a concept he is expanding into a global brand.